Chapter 28
CHAPTER 28
SPENCER
M y stomach twisted into a knot as Louise left us behind in the elevator. I shifted my weight from side to side, adjusting the strap on the duffel bag slung around me.
How had this room fiasco happened? I didn’t know, but I wanted Eve to know I wasn’t trying anything funny.
“Hey, umm, I just…really want you to know that I didn’t do this. I didn’t…this isn’t some kind of weird come on.” My voice trembled a little as the elevator continued to tug us up.
Eve glanced at me, a soft, but awkward smile on her face. “I didn’t think you did. I’m sure it’s just…they probably did this so they could sell another room tonight since they’re booked.”
“Right, yeah,” I said with a nod, avoiding her gaze in favor of staring down at my shoes. “Probably. I just…you know, I feel terrible about this. Maybe I should call around and see if there are any other rooms in the area.”
“I’m sure we’ll figure it out,” Eve said with a dismissive wave. “Maybe there will be two beds.”
“Yeah, could be.”
The elevator doors slid open, and we exited, stepping into the hall and heading to the right as the sign indicated.
“What room is it?” she asked.
“Uh, 5300,” I answered as I stared down at the little card they’d given me along with the keys.
“Right, all the way at the end. That’s our luck,” she said with a coy smile.
I nodded in agreement as we trudged along down to a set of double doors. I hadn’t booked a suite. Maybe we’d been upgraded because of the trouble.
I reached around Eve and pressed my key against the lock pad. A green light flashed, and I tugged the door open.
Eve stepped inside first, her eyebrows knitting as she scanned the large space. A heart-shaped hot tub stood near the large windows that overlooked the slopes. A small living room sat to our right and a giant king-sized bed was on the left.
Heat rose in my cheeks at the set-up, complete with champagne and chocolate-covered strawberries.
Eve wrinkled her nose, picking up the note next to the delectable items. “Congratulations on your nuptials, enjoy a sweet treat on us to celebrate your lives together? What is this?”
She snapped her gaze to me, her features questioning.
I tugged the note from her hands and scanned it before I sighed. “The honeymoon suite, I’m betting.”
“Why would they–”
We both locked eyes with each other and uttered one word at the same time. “Louise.”
My head fell back between my shoulder blades as realization dawned. Louise must have changed our reservation, likely in a desperate attempt to bring us back together.
Eve grabbed the note again as I tossed it next to the empty flutes near the chilled champagne. “Oh, Louise. Well, her heart was in the right place. She probably thought she was doing something nice.”
“Yeah,” I mentioned as I shuffled a few more steps into the room. “I think she thinks we’re moving along too slowly.”
“Is it just me or do things feel like they are moving both slow and fast with Louise and Theo?” Eve asked.
“Yes,” I said with a bob of my head as I twisted to face her. “Yes, they are. I mean…they seem to have hit it off. The way they acted at the amusement park looked promising, but almost a little too promising.”
“Yeah,” Eve answered as she hefted her bag onto the luggage rack in the closet. “I don’t know, maybe I’m just too inexperienced to know how these things go, but…I’ve never done that in public.”
I shook my head. “Me neither.”
She heaved a sigh as she plopped onto the edge of the bed. “I guess I’ve never been in love.”
The words crushed me a little, but I couldn’t expect anything from her.
“I mean, if that’s what the standard is for it,” she said as she stared at the patterned carpet under her feet.
“Do you think it is?” I asked, wanting to hear her say no.
She shrugged, glancing up at me. “I don’t know. My sister would probably say it is. But she loves public displays of affection, too. She likes to flaunt things. And she’s been in love. At least, that’s what she says.”
It wasn’t the answer I wanted. I tightened my grip on the strap of my bag. “Maybe these people just don’t know what love really is.”
“Audrey probably knows better than I do. I usually never get a second call.”
“Good point. I’m the same. But still…I…”
“What?” she prodded.
“I think…I think you can know what love is even if you maul someone else in public.”
She chuckled, and I realized how much I liked the sound of her laugh. “Maybe love just looks different for different people.”
The words gave me a little hope, though I had to keep reminding myself that, despite the champagne and romance filling the room, we weren’t a couple. “Yeah, I think you’re right.”
We smiled at each other for a moment, and I wondered if there was a method to Louise’s madness. There seemed to be a connection between us, a spark that was building. But before it really fired, she glanced away and rose from the bed. “Well, we may need to tell that to Louise.”
The moment deflated faster than an untied balloon as did my hopes. “Yeah. Do you think we should say something about…this.”
I waved my finger around the room.
Eve tugged her lips into a wince before she shook her head. “Maybe not. I mean…let her think she’s pulled a coup. Maybe it’ll even help.”
“You mean with Theo?”
“Yeah,” Eve said with a nod of her head. “Like I said, they seemed to be moving fast, but also slow. If they’re that close, as evidenced by their public behavior, you’d think Louise would be talking divorce. But…she hasn’t even brought it up, right?”
I shook my head. “Not a peep. And I thought the same thing. You’d think she’d be saying something like…hey, get those divorce papers ready, sugar, I think I found my happy, but nothing.”
“I really expected her to do that, too. By the way,” she said with an amused grin, “that’s a really great Louise impression.”
“Thank you,” I answered, lifting my chin. “Well, I guess you’re right. We’ll let her think she’s pushed us closer together, and then we’ll see if things move along with Theo.”
“Good plan,” she said, shooting a finger gun at me.
I may not hang all over her in public, but those little things that she did made me like her. I sucked in a deep breath and glanced around the room. “Well, this isn’t so bad. I can take the couch at least.”
“Oh, okay,” she said with a nod. “Umm, it doesn’t look very comfortable though.” She wrinkled her nose at the misshapen cushions.
“It’ll be fine.”
“Okay. I mean, we could share the bed if you wanted. We’re both adults. I trust you.”
The last three words made my heartbeat faster for some reason. “Well, uh, I just didn’t want to…make you uncomfortable. But if you don’t mind…”
“I don’t,” she assured me.
Silence passed between us before I finally shrugged my bag off and placed it down on the other luggage holder.
“So, I don’t mean to be presumptuous,” I said as she unzipped her suitcase and pulled out a few items, taking them into the bathroom, “but it would be a shame to let this champagne go to waste.”
“Oh,” she said, her features a little surprised as she emerged empty-handed, “I guess…I guess we could drink it. I hadn’t thought about it, but I did think it would be horrible to waste those strawberries.”
I chuckled at her as I tore open the wrapper that covered them and held the plate toward her. “Madam.”
“Why, thank you, sir,” she said with a curtsy. She selected one and bit into it. “Mmm, this is worth it.”
I popped the cork on the champagne and poured two glasses, handing it to her. “To Louise. Thank you for the goodies.”
“Despite our fake relationship, we will still enjoy them,” Eve said with a grin.
The words crushed me again, but I tried to find levity in them as we clinked our glasses together and both took a sip.
Eve wandered to the window. “It’s a really pretty view.”
“It is,” I agreed, joining her there with a strawberry in one hand and my champagne in the other. “I’d love to just stay in and stare at it.”
“Me too,” Eve answered. “What do you say to some room service? I wouldn’t mind eating in my pajamas.”
A grin spread across my face as I glanced down at her. “I’d like that. I mean the room service. I don’t…care what you’re wearing. That’s not…I don’t mean that to sound…I’m sorry.”
She giggled at me. “Champagne getting to you already?”
“No, that’s just my awkwardness on full display.”
She set her flute down on the table, popping the last piece of strawberry into her mouth before she crossed to her suitcase. “You’re not awkward. You just think you are.”
“No, I’m awkward,” I called as she grabbed a few items from her bag and disappeared into the bathroom, closing the door slightly.
“You’re not, Spencer. I know you think you are, but you’re not. You’re just normal.”
I leaned against the wall, taking comfort in her voice and her words and in knowing that she was so close to me. “I’m really not that normal. I promise. And, hey, how can you judge? Didn’t you say you’re not normal.”
She whipped the door open, and we came face to face unexpectedly. My heart stopped before it melted at the sight of her: a slight grin on her face, her hair pulled into a messy bun, and the flannel duck pajamas complete with fuzzy slippers.
Her grin slipped a little as we found ourselves inches from each other. My breathing turned shallow as my gaze fell to her lips. Thoughts of our kiss at the amusement park raced through my mind, and I longed to feel the softness of her skin against my fingers as I cupped her face.
My lips parted, and I felt myself lean forward when she said, “Oops, I’m sorry.”
She skirted around me to retrieve her champagne and another strawberry while I silently kicked myself for assuming she’d want to kiss. “Anyway, you’re right.”
“Uh…what?” I murmured, trying desperately to stop acting like a fool.
“You’re right. I’m not normal, so I’m not a good judge.” She took another sip of her champagne as she perused the room service menu.
“Anything look good?” I asked as I grabbed my pajamas from my duffel bag.
“Umm, yeah, this cranberry-walnut salad sounds perfect.”
I changed clothes in the bathroom before emerging and scanning the menu myself before placing the order.
“Hey, you didn’t happen to bring that Sorry game with you, did you?” Eve asked as she pulled her eyes away from the mountain slope as I placed the receiver on the base.
“Sorry, no, but…I did bring a deck of cards. You could play solitaire if you’d like.”
“Aw, that’s no fun for you. How about Gin or something?”
“Okay, just…oh…no poker,” I said as I retrieved the cards from my bag.
“Deal. I hate poker. I think it’s overrated.”
I grinned at her as I plopped on the couch. “Me too.”
She took the other end, leaving a cushion between us as I shuffled the cards and dealt out the first hand.
We played back and forth, sipping our champagne and polishing off the strawberries as we waited for our meal. “Wow, I am glad you’re willing to share the bed. This couch is awful.”
“It is. I’m not sure I can stand it.”
“Do you want to move?”
“The floor would honestly be better, but maybe the bed?” she suggested, her nose wrinkling.
“You’re on,” I said, collecting up the cards and moving them to the middle of the bed.
Eve settled on it as our meals arrived.
Within an hour, we’d polished off the salads and the dessert we’d ordered to share and changed games. Eve plopped onto her stomach, her cards fanned in her hand. “I have no threes. Go fish.”
I groaned as I pulled a card from the pile.
“Give me all your sevens.”
“Are you kidding me? I think you can somehow see my cards,” I complained as I handed two over.
She squealed with excitement, laying down four sevens in front of her and taking another turn. “I can’t see your cards. I just have excellent Go Fish strategy.”
“Oh, is that right?”
“Yep,” she said with a nod as she scrambled back to a sit. “My skills are unparalleled.”
“Apparently, so is your Gin strategy. I think you won eighty percent of those games.”
“I don’t think it was that high,” she said with a shake of her head, her messy bun flopping around.
“I think it was. I think…Eve Dawson, I think you’re a card shark.”
She burst into laughter at the words. “Oh, is that right? Well, maybe we should change games again. You pick this time.”
“Yeah?” I asked as she emptied her hand, winning the game. “Okay, how about…hmm, war. You can’t have a strategy in war. It’s just luck of the draw.”
“Okay,” she said with nod as he shuffled and dealt the cards.
We spent twenty minutes on the game before I found myself left with a single card. I played the blasted two and Eve swept it away with a seven before she shot me a tentative, yet amused grin.
“I can’t believe you just won…again. In a game with no strategy.”
“Or I just have a really sneaky war strategy.” She shot me a coy glance before we both burst into laughter at her words.
I’d never laughed so much as I did at that moment. She doubled over, her hand falling on my forearm.
Once again, we found our faces only inches apart, and this time, after the chocolate, the champagne and the shared laughter, I couldn’t resist or stop myself from leaning closer.
Our lips met in a soft kiss that lingered before it deepened. I reached for her, cupping her cheek in a hand as she slid her arms around my neck.
My heart banged out a frenetic rhythm against my ribs as I enjoyed the tender moment.
Our lips parted, but we remained close before we both scrambled backward, embarrassed and nervous.
“I’m so sorry,” Eve gushed. “I think I had too much to drink.”
“Yeah, same. Really sorry, I didn’t mean to do it. It’s just the champagne–”
“Right, and the chocolate.”
“Uh-huh, yep,” I said with a bob of my head, hoping I wasn’t bright red. “And the laughing, and just…it was just…”
“Nothing,” she said with a shake of her head and a dismissive wave of her hand. “Just two friends who drank too much.”
“Yep,” I answered as I collected up the cards. “So, uh, another round?”
“You know, I think I’ll go to bed. I’m sorry. I’m suddenly really tired.”
“Yeah, me too,” I answered with a bob of my head. “Exhausted, actually. Let’s head to bed. We have a tall order making certain Theo does everything right for Louise once he gets here tomorrow.”
“Yep,” she answered as she cleared the plates off our bed and pushed the room service cart into the hall.
We hurried to climb under the covers and shut off the lights, making certain we each faced away from one another.
I stayed as close to the edge as I possibly could, afraid the proximity would lead to another awkward situation.
My pulse still raced every time I recalled how it felt to lock lips with Eve. I stared into the darkened room, my fear playing terrible tricks on me.
I needed Louise to wrap up her dating before this went any further. I couldn’t take much more. I was falling for Eve, and every time I got close to someone, I got burned.